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VRC is a student-centered program. Adults may assist Students in urgent situations, but Adults may never work on or program a Robot without Students on that Team being present and actively participating. Students must be prepared to demonstrate an active understanding of their Robot’s construction and programming to judges or event staff. Some amount of Adult mentorship, teaching, and / or guidance is an expected and encouraged facet of VEX competitions. No one is born an expert in robotics! However, obstacles should always be viewed as teaching opportunities, not tasks for an Adult to solve without Students present and actively participating. When a mechanism falls off, it is… …Okay for an Adult to help a Student investigate why it failed, so it can be improved. …Not okay for an Adult to put the Robot back together. When a Team encounters a complex programming concept, it is… …Okay for an Adult to guide a Student through a flowchart to understand its logic. …Not okay for an Adult to write a pre-made command for that Student to copy / paste. During Match play, it is… …Okay for an Adult to provide cheerful, positive encouragement as a spectator. …Not okay for an Adult to explicitly shout step-by-step commands from the audience.
This rule operates in tandem with the REC Foundation Student Centered Policy, which is available on the REC Foundation website for Teams to reference throughout the season: https://vrc-kb.recf.org/hc/en-us/articles/9654578622487-Student-Centered-Policy. Violation Notes: Potential Violations of this rule will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. By definition, all Violations of this rule become Match Affecting as soon as it is determined that a Robot which was built by an Adult has won a Match.